208 hire car easing wait

[ratty6464]

The wait for the M3 seems never ending, but one unexpected is the hire car I'm running about in for he next couple of weeks.

Sold the previous car privately and have a Peugeot 208 hire car. On first impression the steering feels ridiculously light, gear leaver is too far away and he accelerator too light and hard to modulate.
But on a couple of days with the car, it's qualities are shining through - the engine isn't powerful (think it's a 3 cylinder, but it's great fun ringing it's neck to the redline. The chassis seems responsive with great balance and decent grip. It's small, nimble and even sounds good.

Above all i'm looking forward to each journey, something I never get with our diesel golf or other hire cars with work. Totally unexpected - most Peugeots i've driven in the last 10years have been underwhelming, cheaply built and crap to drive. This could bode well for the gti.

anyone else got / driven one of these?

[ratty6464]

No one shares the love for the 208 seemingly?

[hotmelt]

Three cylinder NA engine surely contributes to that, and characteristic peugeot neutral chassis(albeit unplayful wit average damping)

[ratty6464]

hotmelt said:

Three cylinder NA engine surely contributes to that, and characteristic peugeot neutral chassis(albeit unplayful wit average damping)

Pretty much hit the nail on the head there!

[danjama]

So how much have Peugeot paid you for this?

[soad]

ratty6464 said:

No one shares the love for the 208 seemingly?

Don't fancy it myself.

[750turbo]

Not driven one, but for looks I think it is top of the class! Fingers crossed for the Gti.

Beware the haters of French cars in here, mostly from people who have no idea...

[M4cruiser]

We've had a hire car 208 at work, as a passenger it's not good, hard suspension for a Peugeot, armrest is too far forward, too much shiny material on the dash causing reflections and distractions. Only good bit is the shape of the seat which gives me more back support than most cars. The diesel is noisy for such a new design of car.

Prefer the Fiesta every time.

[C. Grimsley]

M4cruiser said:

We've had a hire car 208 at work, as a passenger it's not good, hard suspension for a Peugeot, armrest is too far forward, too much shiny material on the dash causing reflections and distractions. Only good bit is the shape of the seat which gives me more back support than most cars. The diesel is noisy for such a new design of car.

Prefer the Fiesta every time.

Fiesta has the peugeot engine in the diesel guise ha ha

Carl

[MondeoMan1981]

Considered a 1.4HDi as a lease car before I bought my 120d.

Nice looking little car, similar to the new Yaris.

The 1.4HDi engine a previous poster refers to has been around since 2002 so yes not a new design but its crazily economical, good on emissions and reliable - so no need to change it much.

Also appears in a pile of other Pugs, current and last model Fiesta, Citroens obviously and maybe it was the 1.4 diesel in the Mk1 BMW Mini.

[Maty]

Had a 308 1.6 HDi as a hire car in Aberdeen a few months ago. It was brand new, less than 1k on the clock and it was without doubt the worst car I've ever had the displeasure of driving. Usually with hire cars I can find something I like but there was absolutely nothing in this. The engine. The seating position. The stereo. The layout. The dash.

Hated it all!

I've seen a few of these 208's on the road and just can't get on board with the looks either.

FiL has an RCZ. Nice looking. Decent interior (for a Pug) but utterly boring engine.

[Jimbo.]

MondeoMan1981 said:

Considered a 1.4HDi as a lease car before I bought my 120d.

Nice looking little car, similar to the new Yaris.

The 1.4HDi engine a previous poster refers to has been around since 2002 so yes not a new design but its crazily economical, good on emissions and reliable - so no need to change it much.

Also appears in a pile of other Pugs, current and last model Fiesta, Citroens obviously and maybe it was the 1.4 diesel in the Mk1 BMW Mini.

The diesel in the Mk1 BMW Mini was from a Toyota Yaris (and Toyotas own lump).

[M4cruiser]

C. Grimsley said:

Fiesta has the peugeot engine in the diesel guise ha ha

Carl

Yes, but the Fiesta is much quieter.

ha ha ha

[M4cruiser]

C. Grimsley said:

M4cruiser said:

, too much shiny material on the dash causing reflections and distractions. Only good bit is the shape of the seat which gives me more back support than most cars. The diesel is noisy for such a new design of car.

Prefer the Fiesta every time.

Fiesta has the peugeot engine in the diesel guise ha ha

Carl

and the Fiesta doesn't have so much distracting reflecting stuff, and you can turn the radio off in the Fiesta ...
So even if the engine is from the same source, I prefer the Fiesta.

[C. Grimsley]

M4cruiser said:

and the Fiesta doesn't have so much distracting reflecting stuff, and you can turn the radio off in the Fiesta ...
So even if the engine is from the same source, I prefer the Fiesta.

Fair play just stating the engine was the same.

Carl

[Bjam99]

I know that I should be open minded, I really should buuuuut.....

I owned a '51 plate 206 1.4 which was okay. Did a simple job, got written off quickly when a 7 series took a fancy to its shapely rear. Wasn't that upset about it.

I drove a 207 hire car for about 2 weeks a couple of years ago and absolutely hated it. Rough old thing with a raw box and nasty interior.

Haven't driven the new 208 but the looks are 'interesting' - I think its an improvement there's still something unsavoury about them that I can't quite put my finger on. Shape reminds me a Yaris (albeit without the hamster-nibbling-on-corn-look that the Yaris has)